Carved in Stone

Vince Neil | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 2, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Eagle Records
• ASIN: B00067HPDC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,177 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Breakin' In The Gun

2. The Crawl

3. One Way

4. Black Promises

5. Skylar's Song

6. Make U Feel

7. Writing On The Wall

8. Find A Dream

9. One Less Mouth To Feed

10. The Rift

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Former Motley Crue vocalist Vince Neil deserves an A for effort for Carved in Stone. Unlike many metal hangers-on (for example, Dokken and Quiet Riot) who hold fast to their tired, archaic ways, Neil at least tried to stay with the times, injecting some dialogue snippets, wah-wah surges, and a few hip-hop beats into his songs. But for execution, he only deserves an A if it stands for Abysmal since even his most daring attempts seem forced. Neil still possesses one of the most annoying nasal voices in metal, and when he tries to sing in a cool grunge drawl like Layne Staley he sounds like he's making a pitiable bid for alternative credibility. --Jon Wiederhorn

Product Description

Originally Release '95 , Second solo album from the Motley Crue singer, Produced by the Dust Brothers .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An overlooked treasure, October 18, 2005

By 

Daniel Maltzman (Arlington, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carved in Stone (Audio CD)

Vince Neil ruled the 80s. He is recognized, probably second only to David Lee Roth, as the voice of 80s hard rock and metal. As the lead singer of Motley Crue, Neil scored six chart-topping, platinum albums, from 1981 to 1991. During the Crue's heyday, their songs dominated MTV and radio. With massive World-wide tours, the Crue conquered the globe. But at the dawn of the 90s, trouble began.

1992 saw the fall of 80s style hard rock, the rise of grunge/alt. rock, and the dismissal of Vince from the Crue.

Not dismayed from his firing (although the Crue maintains that he quit), Neil spent most of the 90s as a solo artist.

80s rockers in the 90s responded to the grunge/alt revolution differently. Some bands (Motley Crue, Warrant) sought to update their sound to fit in with the current trends. While others bands (Dokken, Slaughter) chose to stick to the pop-metal formula of yore. Neil chose the latter path.

Without missing a beat, Neil started a new band with former Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, Dave Marshall (guitar), Vikki Fox (Drums), and Robbie Crane (bass). Their debut album, "Exposed" was released in 1993. "Exposed" lived in a vacuum, completely unaware of the changes that had taken place in rock and was a complete throw-back to 80s pop-metal. While the album, no doubt, delighted fans nostalgic for old-school metal, it failed to make a major impact. Within a year Stevens had returned to Billy Idol and Marshall was gone as well.

For his new band, Vince found Brent Woods to play lead, and retained the "Exposed" rhythm section of Foxx and Crane.

"Exposed" had acted as though the grunge/alt rock movement had never even occurred. For his second solo outing, Neil decided to chance his luck with a different approach. With the Dust Brothers (The Beastie Boys) producing, "Carved in Stone," embraced a new 90s sound. Although it is most definitely a rock album, "Carved in Stone" has elements of hip-hop, and the sound and tone are distinctly dark. "Carved in Stone" is the darkest album Neil had made since the Crue's classic "Shout at the Devil" (1983).

Although "Exposed" had tremendous instrumental firepower, the song-writing was lacking and thus the album was not up-to-par with classic Crue. Fortunately, this is not a problem for the follow-up. Compared to "Exposed," "Carved in Stone" is better written, with catchier hooks and grooves. The lyrics had also improved and had considerably more substance. While "Exposed" was a fun retro album (with amazing guitar work), it was ultimately, a fluff piece. "Carved in Stone" is darker, edgier, leaner, and meaner.

While "Carved in Stone" certainly has a dark 90s sound/vibe, the songs are also highly melodic with good song along choruses. It's not as though Neil completely abandoned his roots and tried to sound trendy, i.e., Tommy Lee's "Methods of Mayhem" (1999). What he did is update his sound for a new, contemporary audience. Unfortunately, few cared.

The album opens up strong with the mid-tempo, grinding "Breakin' in the Gun," told from the perspective of its sadistic narrator. "The Crawl" could have been a hit, as it has the perfect blend of an 80s sing-along chorus, and a 90s dark, brooding theme. "One Way" is one of the more hip-hop sounding songs on the disc, although it is rocking enough to please most old-school Crue-heads. The haunting "Black Promises" has a strong melody and could also have been a contender to be used as a single. "Skylar's Song," written for Vince Neil's dying daughter, is one of the most beautifully written heartfelt songs you will ever hear. The melodic "Make U Feel" and the angry, urgent "Writing on the Wall" are effective and keep up the momentum. The lethargic "Find a Dream," and the hopeless "One Less Mouth to Feed" are good, if not the most memorable songs. The album comes back in full force with the hopeless but beautiful mini-epic, "The Rift."

"Carved in Stone" was actually ahead of its time. It might have actually been a big hit, had it been released only a few years later, at the height of Nu-Metal. It would have been easy to imagine hearing these songs along side the likes of Kid Rock, KORN, and Limp Bizkit. Only Neil's album was far more melodic, with actual guitar solos that didn't sound like the inside of a meat-grinder.

"Carved in Stone" is most comparable to Motley Crue's "Generation Swine,"(1997) which was released two years later (after Neil had rejoined the group). Both "Carved in Stone" and "Generation Swine" see an 80s artist update their sound for a 90s audience. But "Generation Swine" sounds contrived and forced, whereas "Carved in Stone" sounds genuinely dark and edgy.

It's a shame that more people didn't check out "Carved in Stone" when it was first released, because it's a really cool album. While it isn't quite as good as "Too Fast for Love" (1982) or "Shout at the Devil," (1983), it's as good as just about anything else Vince did with the Crue. If you're a Crue fan and missed "Carved in Stone" the first time around, try giving it a spin.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vince goes industrial, May 5, 2007

By 

Joffa (Victoria, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carved in Stone (Audio CD)

This is a great album from Vince, surprisingly good. I was apprehensive about buying this when I heard that Vince was moving away from his glam roots and even having a go at rapping. Trust me, Vince doesn't try to rap! This is industrial rock, and Vince delivers it like it's all he's ever known. One Less Mouth To Feed is fantastic. He should have punched out another solo album while the Crue released Generation Swine with Corabi, probably would have been better for everybody.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good metal album by ex-Motley Crue member Vince Neil - I usually don't like metal, but this is good!, January 5, 2006

By 

C. Cross - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carved in Stone (Audio CD)

Before I begin - a personal thanks to reviewer Daniel Maltzman - if it weren't for him I wouldn't've even heard of this album! Your reviews are dead-on! Keep up the good work! =)

Now back to my review. I usually don't like metal, but Vince Neil's "Carved In Stone" is actually not that bad. It's more hard rock than it is heavy metal, so I suppose that's why it seems more accessible. Vince Neil is a really good singer - he's very likable and has a good voice for this style of music. "The Crawl" is a good tune to start off the album with - the siren effect, though sampled a lot in many albums, still comes off as pretty cool. Musically it's pretty much like any other metal album you've ever heard except much more accessible and fun (every song is good). I'd say the worst song on the album has to be the last song - "The Rift". The guitars are hard enough to sound tough, but friendly enough not to scare people away (like, say, a lot of death metal probably would). The production is also really well done, although the album could definitely use a remastering. Lyrically I'm not entirely sure what's going on here, but since I have to WORK to hear the words I suppose that's not the point of the album anyway (it's to have an energetically good time!). Metal fans should like this album, and I think non-metal fans might actually be intrigued by it too. Recommended!

Highlights include:
everything except "The Rift"